Harwich harbormaster rescues two

Sunday

May 25, 2008 at 3:27 PM

HARWICH – Two kayakers, adrift at sea, were rescued this afternoon off Allen Harbor.

Harwich Harbormaster Thomas Leach wason routine rounds about 11:50 a.m. when he saw the kayakers waving and struggling about half-a-mile from shore – not far from where two college students drowned in 2003, he said.

One of the boaters, Olga Chang, of Boston, was sitting in the kayak, which had submerged in water. The other, Angelo Medina, also of Boston, had been knocked from the boat while trying to retrieve a paddle that had drifted away. Strong winds had pushed the two apart, and they did not have a bucket to bail out the boat.

Leach immediately went to the area and picked up the two boaters and returned them to shore.

Neither kayaker was injured.

“This situation had a happy ending and no problems, but with the cold water right now, you never know,” Leach said. “This is why you absolutely need to be prepared when you’re out on the water.”